What was the title of C.S. Lewis’s memoir about his conversion from atheism?

C.S. Lewis’s memoir about his conversion from atheism is Surprised by Joy.

Surprised by Joy was published in 1955 and describes Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual development, including his movement from childhood belief to atheism and eventually to Christianity. The book focuses on experiences of intense longing, which Lewis called “joy,” and on the books, friendships, and arguments that influenced him.

Lewis discusses the impact of writers such as George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton, as well as his friendship and debates with J.R.R. Tolkien. His conversion was not a single moment: Lewis described a gradual process that culminated in renewed Christian belief during the early 1930s.

Readers sometimes confuse this memoir with A Grief Observed, which concerns Lewis’s mourning after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman. Mere Christianity developed from wartime radio talks and explains Christian belief in a different format. Surprised by Joy is therefore best understood as Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual autobiography rather than a systematic theology.